I haven't seen as much Moffat writing as you have and I gladly bow to your experience. I also remember a post when the first season came out, discussing the issue about women in the Sherlock series and feminists generally agreed that the women were poorly written and forced to act out on stereotypes. I whole-heartedly agree with this. ROAR MORE TO MOFFAT!!
And I whole-heartedly agree that Irene comes through as a stereotype in this. But only Mycroft refers to her as a 'sex-worker', which is the worst word used by her profession in the whole episode and for which I'm grateful. I am against any kind of sex work and my feminist heart cries over the fact that this is Irene's profession. (But the consolation is that she dosn't turn to Moriarty for sex and she's clever enough to realise that being naked makes it hard for Sherlock to pin her down (LOL), that she has even more brain than beauty and that she thinks brain is sexy, so sexy that Sherlock turns her on because of his personality and not because of his gender. And she's generally badass awesome and controls her own life. Or tries to.)
But: the sex issue. The only sex here happens off stage and/or in the heads of these people. It IS about sex. Sherlock gets called 'The Virgin', not that he cares or even says if he is or not. I LIKE THAT. (My generation was so quick to call people virgins and being obsessed with that. Stupid! It's a non-issue.) And Sherlock can't look away from the fact that Irene is about sex. It's a very direct message, even if she calls it 'dinner', and he can't retort. His initial reaction isn't to her body. He is surprise but observes. His brain and body reaction to her goes together and comes bit by bit. When she's in his coat, when she's a badass fighter, when she's brainy AND when finally she beats him. That's what gets him started.
And indeed, Sherlocks emotional journey started and went a bit in last season. But in this episode? He apologises to Molly and kisses her on the cheek. He consoles Mrs. H in his own weird way, touches her and points out the awesomeness in her personality. (England would fall without Mrs. H on Baker Str.) He's jealous of John's blog and John's dating life in his own odd way. He questions his and Mycroft's relationship while TALKING to Mycroft. He's thrown when he finds out that Irene is alive and straight after, he comes home to find the break-in in the flat. They have Mrs. H. Seriously, he looks really scary there. It's his cold mind that makes him solve the situation BEFORE he throws the CIA man out of the window, but I never doubted that Sherlock would take a painful revenge. When Irene begs for protection, he gives it, even if no-one knows.
*Whew* Here's the essay that LJ ate yesterday. ;-) And I don't mean you have to agree and Moffat IS an asshole. But I do feel that a lot of things happened in this episode, emotionally. And I loved it. :-)
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2012-01-03 11:07 am (UTC)And I whole-heartedly agree that Irene comes through as a stereotype in this. But only Mycroft refers to her as a 'sex-worker', which is the worst word used by her profession in the whole episode and for which I'm grateful. I am against any kind of sex work and my feminist heart cries over the fact that this is Irene's profession. (But the consolation is that she dosn't turn to Moriarty for sex and she's clever enough to realise that being naked makes it hard for Sherlock to pin her down (LOL), that she has even more brain than beauty and that she thinks brain is sexy, so sexy that Sherlock turns her on because of his personality and not because of his gender. And she's generally badass awesome and controls her own life. Or tries to.)
But: the sex issue. The only sex here happens off stage and/or in the heads of these people. It IS about sex. Sherlock gets called 'The Virgin', not that he cares or even says if he is or not. I LIKE THAT. (My generation was so quick to call people virgins and being obsessed with that. Stupid! It's a non-issue.) And Sherlock can't look away from the fact that Irene is about sex. It's a very direct message, even if she calls it 'dinner', and he can't retort. His initial reaction isn't to her body. He is surprise but observes. His brain and body reaction to her goes together and comes bit by bit. When she's in his coat, when she's a badass fighter, when she's brainy AND when finally she beats him. That's what gets him started.
And indeed, Sherlocks emotional journey started and went a bit in last season. But in this episode? He apologises to Molly and kisses her on the cheek. He consoles Mrs. H in his own weird way, touches her and points out the awesomeness in her personality. (England would fall without Mrs. H on Baker Str.) He's jealous of John's blog and John's dating life in his own odd way. He questions his and Mycroft's relationship while TALKING to Mycroft. He's thrown when he finds out that Irene is alive and straight after, he comes home to find the break-in in the flat. They have Mrs. H. Seriously, he looks really scary there. It's his cold mind that makes him solve the situation BEFORE he throws the CIA man out of the window, but I never doubted that Sherlock would take a painful revenge. When Irene begs for protection, he gives it, even if no-one knows.
*Whew* Here's the essay that LJ ate yesterday. ;-) And I don't mean you have to agree and Moffat IS an asshole. But I do feel that a lot of things happened in this episode, emotionally. And I loved it. :-)